you're not a shadow, you won't fade
by mutemelodyx
Summary: A quick one-shot of Obito making his way to Konoha after escaping from Madara's clutches. / "Sorry I'm late," He calls with the last of his breath, and a smile finds its way for the first time since that fateful mission to Kannabi Bridge as nostalgia fills him. "I got...lost on the path of life."


**[Title is from We Are Ignited by Nathan Sharp]**

* * *

He's stumbling through the woods with all the gracefulness of a cat dropped onto the middle of a thoroughly frozen pond.

His body is still far too weak for this type of exertion. Sure, he had been doing basically non-stop physical therapy for the past year, but he had undergone extensive physical trauma and wouldn't exactly put Uchiha Madara under the list of 'skilled physical therapists'.

Still, he hasn't_ entirely _forgotten his shinobi skills. He's avoiding traveling on the ground by jumping through the trees, something they had drilled into every student's mind back in the Academy. He himself was proof that the instructors had been relentless with that particular lesson, as there were few specific rules he could recall.

He obviously wasn't _completely _incompetent or stupid. He just...had trouble remembering lessons that weren't firsthand. He was a hands-on learner, and the boring lectures and endless written tests at the Academy simply didn't work.

In his defense, he could pretty confidently claim that no instructor ever gave them an exam where the question was_'You're presumed dead by your village and wake up in a sealed cave with Konoha's first ever missing-nin - who is also presumed dead - and the half of your body that had been previously crushed by a falling boulder is made out of plant matter that needs extreme conditioning to work properly. There are also several creatures made out of the same material as well as some weird giant wooden statue. What is your first course of action?'_

And if it had been, then Obito probably at_ least _got half-credit. He's alive, after all.

It doesn't help that his empty eye socket keeps acting up. There are flares of sharp pain in the space where his missing eye would be, and it only increases the closer he gets to the village. He's getting some sort of image, but it's murky and distorted and doesn't make any sense.

"Just a little farther," He mutters under his breath as he nearly slips on the branch he lands on. He's breathing heavily and his entire body is just screaming at him to just collapse and accept death, but he pushes it away.

He'll be_ damned _if he doesn't make it back. Not when he's this close.

_I'll be there soon, Rin. Minato-sensei. Bakashi. _He whispers in his mind, conjuring up their images. _I'm almost there._

Another burst of acute pain. Another image.

This one is clearer than the last.

It's still slightly fuzzy, but it is undoubtedly of the entrance to Konoha. He can just catch Rin's form, as the girl speaks to the two guards - is that Ayaka and Takehiko? - with a smile on her face. There's a figure next to him, one with messy blond hair and a jonin vest. It's undoubtedly Minato-sensei.

_Kakashi. _Some part of his mind tells him. _You're seeing them through Kakashi's eye. He's showing you them, just like you asked him to_.

He moves faster, sacrificing any sense of subtly and stealth he still had for pure, unadulterated_ speed._

"I'm coming." He says to no one as he can see the trees end up ahead. It hurts to talk, but everything currently hurts, so he pays it no mind. "I'm _coming, _dammit."

The forest ends, and suddenly the sun is directly shining on him in a way it hasn't in a long time. It's bright and uncomfortable. His eye burns.

He ignores it.

He's suddenly on a beaten down path, and the sight of Konohagakure itself almost steals his remaining breath away.

He pushes on. He can see them in the distance now. Kakashi and Minato-sensei's hair are distinctive, and he would recognize Nohara Rin from _anywhere._

He's running. Sprinting, really.

His chest hurts and every breath is a battle. His legs are only moving through sheer force of will, rather than any physical ability. He's pretty sure he should have collapsed a mile back, but he's not going to question it.

Kakashi must catch him first, bored with whatever Rin is talking to the two guards about. The boy turns slightly, and Obito can see his face snap towards him.

The boy visibly freezes, his muscles tensing. He's open in a way that's so out of character for him that in any other situation, Obito would laugh.

Obito keeps moving.

Kakashi must say something, because Minato-sensei suddenly looks at the boy, before looking up as well. Obito's close enough that he can see the man's face fill with shock and his eyes widen.

Rin turns and mimics Minato-sensei. She grabs onto the man and says words that are just too quiet for Obito to properly distinguish.

Another flare of pain.

Obito only sees himself this time.

He looks like _hell, _to put it bluntly. His hair is far too long and matted. He's covered in scars and ripped clothing. His patchwork body is on display, but he's so pale that the difference isn't as harsh as it was his first day in the cave. The array of scratches, cuts, and bruises that litter his flesh half is also open to the world. His entire body is covered in a thick layer of dirt and grime, and he looks like he just crawled his way back instead of ran.

He also looks_ alive, _and considering that that status has been up in the air for the past year, Obito will take it without any complaints.

Kakashi flinches.

Obito stops.

He's only a few yards away from his team. From his _home. _A dozen more steps and he'll be back in the place that has been out of his reach with people he thought he'd never get to say goodbye to, much less talk to.

He fills the gap between them.

He's home.

"Sorry I'm late," He calls with the last of his breath, and a smile finds its way for the first time since that fateful mission to Kannabi Bridge as nostalgia fills him. "I got...lost on the path of life."


End file.
